Lockheed L-12 Electra Junior

L-12 Electra Junior
275px
An Electra Junior in Casablanca
Type	Utility aircraft
Manufacturer	Lockheed
Maiden flight	27 June 1936
Number built	130
Developed from	Lockheed L-10 Electra
Variants	Lockheed L-14 Super Electra

The Lockheed 12 Electra Junior was an eight-seat, six passenger all-metal transport designed for use by smaller airlines and private owners.

Design and Development

Developed as a scaled-down version of the Lockheed 10 Electra, the prototype made its first flight on June 27, 1936, piloted by Marshall Headle.

British Airways Ltd. ordered two Electra Juniors in 1939. Although ostensibly acquired for civilian purposes, these aircraft were modified for aerial photography and used by Sidney Cotton to track Axis military activity on the eve of World War II.

A modified Electra Junior was used by the NACA as a testbed for "hotwing" deicing technology.

A total of 130 Electra Juniors were built. At the time of Pearl Harbor this aircraft had outsold the competing Beech 18 by 2-1, and Lockheed had over two dozen unfilled orders. In order to concentrate on more vital and advanced wartime aircraft, Lockheed turned the unfilled orders over to Beechcraft, who eventually built many thousands of their Model 18.

Variants

• L-12-A with non-retractable Tricycle gear
• L-12-B with two 440 hp (330 kW) Wright R-975 Whirlwind radial engines
• L-212 light attack/trainer with gun turret atop aft fuselage

Operators

Civilian Operators

• British Airways Ltd. (a front for the espionage of Sidney Cotton)
• NACA
• Santa Maria Airlines

Military Operators

Template:Country data Canada

• RCAF

Template:IDN

Template:Country data Dutch East Indies

Template:Country data South Africa

• SAAF

Template:UK

• RAF

Template:USA

• US Army Air Corps/US Army Air Force
• US Marine Corps
• US Navy

Specifications (12A Electra Junior)

General characteristics

• Crew: two, pilot and co-pilot
• Capacity: six passengers
• Length: 36 ft 4 in (11.07 m)
• Wingspan: 49 ft 6 in (15.09 m)
• Height: 9 ft 9 in (2.97 m)
• Wing area: 352 ft² (32.7 m²)
• Empty weight: 5,765 lb (2,615 kg)
• Loaded weight: 8,650 lb (3,924 kg)
• Powerplant: 2× Pratt & Whitney R-985-48 radial engines, 450 hp (336 kW) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 195 knots (225 mph, 362 km/h)
• Range: 695 NM (800 mi, 1,287 km)
• Service ceiling: 22,900 ft (6,980 m)
• Rate of climb: 1,140 ft/min (427 m/min)
• Wing loading: 25 lb/ft² (120 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.10 hp/lb (0.17 kW/kg)

Popular culture

An Electra Junior appeared in the film Casablanca. Wartime security precautions prevented shooting at an airport at night, so a cardboard cutout stood in for a real airplane in many shots.

Related content

Related development

• Lockheed Electra
• Lockheed L-14 Super Electra

Comparable aircraft

• Beech 18

Designation sequence

• L-8 - L-8A - L-9 - L-10 - L-12 - L-14 - L-15 - L-18

Related lists

• List of Lockheed aircraft
• List of military aircraft of the United States

See also

Lockheed aircraft models

Airliners and Civil Transports: Vega · Electra · Electra Junior · Super Electra · Lodestar · Constellation · Saturn · L-188 Electra · L-402 · JetStar · L-1011 TriStar

Military Transports : C-64 · C-121 · R6V · C-130 Hercules · C-141 Starlifter · C-5 Galaxy

Fighters: F-22 Raptor · F-35 Lightning II · F-94 Starfire · F-104 Starfighter · F-117 Nighthawk · P-38 Lightning · P-80 Shooting Star · T-33 Shooting Star

Patrol and reconnaissance : Hudson · PV-1 Ventura · PV-2 Harpoon · P-2 Neptune · P-3 Orion · CP-140 Aurora/CP-140A Arcturus · U-2 · SR-71 Blackbird · S-3 Viking